CHARLESTON, W.Va. West Virginias Oakhurst Links is up for sale the birthplace of American golf, where sheep roam the fairways and modern technology takes a back seat to hickory-shafted clubs.

Owner Lewis Keller said that after 50 years, its time for someone else to oversee the White Sulphur Springs course that held its first competition in 1884.

The asking price for the nine-hole course and its museum $4.5 million.

Keller hopes a new owner can be found to maintain Oakhurst Links in its current playable state.

I think Ive been custodian long enough, Keller, 86, told The Associated Press on Friday. I think a new one would step up and it would be very nice.

Oakhurst Links is on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been closed to public play this year, although a tournament was held earlier this summer.

From wire reports